The invention relates generally to valve assemblies and, in particular, to non-reversible valve mountings.
Many valves of all types are designed to be installed in a particular manner relative to the flow direction in the conduit in which they are mounted. All too frequently, however, the valves accidently are installed improperly and, consequently, may become inoperative. One answer to this problem is to provide assemblies which fit together in a non-reversible manner and, as is recognized, many structures, including valves, incorporate such a non-reversibility. Even so, there frequently are problems in applying the concept to particular assemblies. In other words, the problem is not so much one of simply providing the desired non-reversibility, but, instead, one of applying non-reversibility to a particular valve assembly in a manner which retains its simplicity, low cost, and performance characteristics which initially prompted the use of that particular assembly. In particular, the arrangement that provides the non-reversibility should be one that does not increase costs or complicate installation, maintenance and repair procedures.
The present invention, as will become apparent, involves primarily a situation of just such a nature, i.e., it is concerned with providing a non-reversible capability for a particular valve assembly which has been selected for particular uses. This assembly subsequently will be described. For the present, it can be noted that it is functionally somewhat similar to an assembly described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,804 in that it is butterfly-type check valve having hinged flaps which are swung open by flow in one direction and closed by flow in the other. However, although such a check valve has been the primary concern, the present invention obviously is applicable to other valves even though the flow control function is not that of a check valve.